Ramp closures at south junction will detour traffic
Two ramps at the south junction of interstates 70 and 79 in South Strabane Township are scheduled to close for road repairs for eight days, beginning Monday, as part of a major construction project at the interchange.
Beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, motorists will be required to follow detours to I-79 south from I-70 east and from I-79 north to I-70 east, the state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” project manager Roxanne Rossi said, when asked if she expected there to be traffic flow problems because of the ramp closures.
The bulk of the traffic at the south junction follows I-79 north to Pittsburgh along a new flyover ramp above I-70, a bridge that will not be closed as part of the concrete patching that will take place at the closed ramps, Rossi said.
The I-79 north ramp to I-70 east is not heavily traveled, and it will be closed continually through Nov. 4, she said. That traffic will be detoured to Route 40 east to the I-70 interchange at Route 519 in Somerset Township.
The ramp to I-79 south from I-70 east is heavily traveled. Closures will take place nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The detour also will follow routes 519 and 40 back to Interstate 79 south.
The repairs are part of $36 million in improvements to what was one of the country’s most dangerous interchanges.